Review of The Witch (2016) by Amanda C — 16 Jul 2016

Director Robert Eggers clearly understands fear. It lies in the unknown and unexplainable. He puts this knowledge to use in The Witch, a deeply disturbing and very creepy piece of work centering on a family exiled from their town in the 1630s for allegations of witchcraft.

The Witch is a slow burn, making you decidedly uncomfortable and unable sit still in your seat waiting for whatever it is to go bump in the night. Eggers, cleverly keeps everything hidden until the very end, letting the audience's imaginations run wild, which creates horrors so much worse than he could ever have conjured onscreen.

The film taps into the general fear of women and their bodies and sexuality as suspicion falls on the eldest daughter, Thomasin, because nothing could possibly attract the black magic the family has been subjected to other than an impure young woman.

There is no proof that Thomasin has done anything to make her tainted, but her sex is enough. It is their mistrust in their own that is ultimately the family's downfall. The Witch revels in the power of women, but not in the kind of sexual power women are usually given onscreen.

This is absolutely an evil female power, the opposite of the ideal, nurturing and warm. The Witch revels in this evil power, and the ultimate control that comes with it.